Star Crossed
by Troller Skates
Summary: Team A collaboration. Some stories are worth telling; some are not. It was an unlikely love that screwed up every person's brain cells in the end. And it all began with a Halloween tale about a girl named Nissa and a mysterious masked man. MAJOR CRACK
1. Chapter 1

This story won _Best Story_ and _Second Longest Story_ on the previous AoGA Chain Story Game. It was combined effort by Team Applegate Mustachios (_EzMouse, Vanilla Coated Love, Ridley Silverlake, Ria Lee, Hilaire, Little Cute Girl, Miharu Endou, Greentulip, AiHeartsThiefshipping_, and_ AYUMU10_).

**Here were the prompts:**  
>- Choose a member in your team to be a character in your story to have a romance with a GA character.<br>- There should be a love triangle—with another GA character of another member of your team.  
>- It must include the following words: <em>Halloween<em>, _hamburger_, and _James Bond_.  
>- Incorporate the line, "Eat me!"<br>- Seaweed dude must appear at least five times.  
>- Natsume must color his hair orange.<br>- Lastly, Jinno must wear a dress.

This was originally a oneshot, but we've decided to break them down into chapters, as it has reached 14K words. We hope you enjoy. :) This is a NissaxReixJinno story, with Nissa (Miharu Endou) being our OC. Do take note that Rei (Persona) is in the middle of this love triangle. Expect crack—lots of crack. :P

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Star Crossed<strong>

_Chapter One_

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><p>Nissa was the new girl in the Academy. She couldn't be bothered to ask for anyone's help, after all, she got her bravery and confidence from her father.<p>

The area was foreign to her, but it felt like she knew she belonged there at some point. She discovered that the more she delved through the mysterious surroundings that made up the academy, the more she felt welcome. At last, she was home.

It was her first day there, so she decided to walk around campus for a while. She made her way to the elementary school building, and on her way there, she saw a pigtailed girl being teased about her underwear by someone who was setting her hair on fire, a feminine boy running after a dark haired girl who seemed to be holding a picture of him in a dress, and lots of other students who caught her attention. She wasn't sure if she'd want to end up like the pigtailed girl or the blonde boy, but she knew she was going to have fun.

_'I can do this,'_ she thought. This is where she belongs. Here, she isn't a freak.

Here, she could be whoever she wants without being judged by the 'ordinary' ones. She won't stand out. For once, she thought she'd be normal, just like everybody else.

And she decided to walk to her class, located at the very end of the hall. She entered the classroom only to get hit on the face with a pumpkin pie.

"Happy Halloween!" the people shouted.

But she didn't hear them clearly as she was too busy cleaning her hair and muttering out incoherent words which expressed her utter displeasure at what just happened.

She heard someone swear, "Crap, that's the new girl."

They were right, after all. She turned her gaze to the class and tried to smile. First impression lasts, after all. But hell, they just threw a pumpkin pie at her! Her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe this! This was just ridiculous, she thought. Now why would a male teacher wear a ridiculously big and puffy dress?

She then heard a croak and, as she turned her gaze on the man with the weird dress, she realized that the frog was actually perched on top of his shoulder. It, too, was wearing a tutu. From a distance, she could see the frog's disapproving frown with the way it was dressed.

She tried to remember her schedule. Her first subject was Math. Is this Jinno? Nissa has heard rumors about a teacher dressing up like a girl, but she was sure that it was somebody named Mr. Narumi. So why was…

That's when it hit her.

It was Halloween. People were dressing up.

She was shocked. How could she forget all about Halloween? And Halloween was her favorite holiday; the costumes, the trick or treating, the Jack-o'-lanterns, everything! She slapped her forehead, not minding the remnants of the pie dangling on her hair, and sighed. This wasn't exactly the first meeting she had expected.

She shrugged everything off, the weird welcome and the pumpkin pie that tried to be a part of her face, and smiled to her classmates, "Hello everyone! My name is Nissa and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all."

The toad croaked again; the rest just grinned at her, except for Jinno. He looked murderous. _'Is he mad at me?'_ Nissa thought,_ 'But it couldn't be me. I mean, I did nothing offensive to him!'_

"You're late." His voice was low, which sounded so weird considering the fact that he was wearing a dress. "Take a seat."

Feeling the urge to fight back but couldn't find the will to do so, she just shrugged and walked over to the desks, until she realized, she didn't have the slightest idea where to sit.

"Uh, Jinno-sensei?" she asked. "Where am I supposed to sit?"

The girl tried to ignore the look he was giving her, but she failed. Just when he was about to tell her where she had to sit, another teacher entered the classroom. And for the first time since she came to the Academy, she felt safe.

The whole class became quiet as the man made his way towards Nissa.

"It's Rei," a girl from Nissa's right said.

Rei. His name repeated inside the seventeen year old girl's mind. He was mysterious, with his mask on and those rings on his fingers. Was that his Halloween costume?

Once in front of her, the guy named Rei said, "Come with me."

Where the man was taking her, she didn't have a clue. All she knew was that there was something in this man that she found comforting. A strange and lonely aura exuded from him, but she didn't care. For as long as she felt comfort, she didn't give a care anymore.

The math teacher gave a curt nod to Rei, allowing Nissa to go with him. She quietly followed him on his heels while ignoring the stares everyone was giving her. The toad croaked some more, trying to gain Jinno's attention. Stares and murmurs followed them as they went from one corner to another. Nissa felt dizzy. If she were given the chance to backtrack their path, she wouldn't be able to do so. It wasn't because of her lack in any sense of direction, but it was because of the mysterious man walking with her.

Once they were out of the classroom, Rei picked out the remnants of the pie on Nissa's head and said, "You're dirty. You should clean up first and only then can we meet the principal."

She nodded dumbly, only registering his words in a hazy manner. He led her up to the third floor and left her inside the girl's lavatory without a word.

She turned to the mirror and turned on the faucet while thinking about the unexpected turn of events.

Principal? Why was she going to the principal's office? She didn't do anything wrong. She was sure about that. Nissa was just late, that's all. You don't get sent to the principal's office for that, right?

She fixed her hair, trying to get the bits of pumpkin out of her strands. She was about to leave when someone went out of a cubicle. A brunette. She saw her just this morning.

They made eye contact and the brunette girl smiled. She recognized her. "Hi, I'm Mikan. You're the new girl, right?"

Before Nissa could respond, the door flung open, revealing Jinno who was still clad in his puffy pink dress.

Why his expression was sour, it was something neither Mikan nor Nissa could comprehend. And as he made his way towards the two, his 5-inch heels tapping sternly against the floor, he put a hand on his hip and asked, "Where is Rei?"

The two girls were surprised.

"Isn't he outside?" asked Nissa. What was going on? Jinno wasn't like this before… meaning, a few minutes ago.

Mikan stiffled a laugh, "Jinjin is in a dress."

Jinno ignored Mikan. "I wouldn't be in here if he was, right?"

"Jinjin's inside the girl's bathroom." Mikan laughed so hard, her voice echoing in the women's comfort room. "Dress. Girl's bathroom. Dress. Girl's bathroom." She repeated. "Where's Hotaru when you need her?"

Nissa tried her best to ignore the brunette and ran outside. Sure enough, the masked man had left.

Leaving Jinno and Mikan in the girls' bathroom was probably not the best idea, but then Nissa thought she just had to get away. Her attempt to escape was cut short when a loud slam of the lavatory door echoed through the halls. When Nissa looked back, she found Jinno catching up to her.

"I wasn't finished talking to you, girl," he said as he stopped right in front of her.

Nissa stopped dead on her tracks at the sight of his abnormally hairy legs, and she lifted her eyes up to meet his face. "What do you want?"

"Answers," he replied. "Why did Rei come for you?"

She wasn't scared. Maybe minus the awful dress then maybe she would have been frightened. "I honestly don't know."

Her teacher took a step forward, "Keep this in mind…" He was towering over her. Is this even right? A teacher talking to his student like this? "Rei. Is. Mine."

Nissa gave him a once-over. "I didn't know that you swing that way. Have him for all I care," she huffed as she flipped her hair back and crossed her arms.

That struck a nerve.

Jinno imitated her movement and whipped his head back, only to be disappointed that he didn't have similarly long hair. In irritation, he pulled down on the neck of his dress and dug his hand inside his chest, taking out a long blonde wig a few moments later. He wore the wig on his head and whipped it dramatically; the satisfaction on his face was extremely apparent.

Nissa wasn't the type to back down from a challenge, and for the next ten minutes, they had a vigorous hair-whipping battle.

Both were dizzy already. Jinno was about to give up, but out of nowhere Willow Smith's _'I Whip My Hair'_ started to play. This gave him the motivation to go on. He'd do anything for Rei. Nissa wasn't going to give up without a fight. Both of them whipped their hair back uncontrollably to the beat of the music.

"Go for it! Whip that hair!" a voice came from behind.

Startled by the voice, Jinno stopped whipping and turned to the source. A middle-schooler with oddly permed hair was cheering from behind with a boombox over his shoulder.

At that exact moment, Jinno's wig flew off his head and landed to God knows where.

_'So that's where the music was coming from,'_ she thought. Nissa smirked. "So I win, huh?"

The frog, which amazingly survived all the whipping, croaked. Jinno glared at Nissa. "Detention."

"Detention for what?" Nissa asked angrily. She wasn't the one who started the hair whipping and the Rei chasing. "If anyone needs detention, it's you, for being a creepy teacher," she tried hard not to laugh.

There. Talking back to a teacher. A valid reason." He told her. "I am not creepy. I'm a man who's in love." With that he stormed off.

"A man in love with another man, I say."

Nissa nearly jumped. She almost forgot about the Seaweed Head Dude.

"I never knew that Jinno was such a… Narumi." He continued. He put his boombox down and nodded at Nissa.

"Who's Narumi?"

"Oh, you'll see," with that, the Seaweed Head Dude left while smirking.

Just when her thoughts drifted to the thought of who this Narumi person was, she remembered she still had to go to the Principal with Rei.

"Where was the Principal's Office again?"

She wandered around the Academy's grounds, looking for the Principal's office. Minutes later, she bumped into the brunette again. What was her name again? The one in the girl's room? Right. Mikan.

She was running and stopped once she saw Nissa. "Hey, have you seen Natsume?"

"Who?"

"My boyfriend. You know, red eyes, raven hair?"

Nissa made no response.

"You see, he needs to color his hair orange."

What is with this Academy? "Orange? Why?"

"He promised this kid, Youichi, that they'd dress up as pumpkins. So yeah," Mikan explained, "orange hair."

"I haven't seen him," Nissa answered. "But I do remember seeing a crimson-eyed guy lurking around earlier outside campus."

"That's him!"

"He was carrying some sort… case," Nissa said thoughtfully, recalling what she saw. "It was very suspicious."

"Oh, please. Don't tell me he's going to act all 007 for Halloween." Mikan rolled her eyes.

"Well, it _is_ Halloween," Nissa remarked.

"No way. No 007," Mikan said, "He promised Youichi! Wait 'til I get my hands on him. Hey, want to come with?"

Nissa was about to say yes, but she stopped and said, "Wait. But, have you seen… uhh… what's his name again…?"

"What are you talking about?" Mikan asked.

"Ah! Rei. He told me to go to the principal's office, but I don't know where that is since I am a new student," Nissa said.

"I'll go with you! I wanna see the principal's costume! Someone told me he's going to dress up as Piyo!"

"Who's Piyo?" Nissa asked, looking at Mikan with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, she's a yellow chick. She's huge, so it's not hard to notice her. Just thinking how the principal would look in a yellow, puffy costume makes me giggle!" Mikan giggled and Nissa just smiled. Mikan sure was kind of weird.

"A giant… chick?" Nissa twitched. "I have this fear of…"

"Giant objects?" Mikan looked at her. "It's fine. A lot of people do, too. But once you get to know Piyo, she's actually really nice. You may suffocate from her hugs, though."

"No, not giant objects…" Nissa gulped, "…yellow creatures."

"Yellow creatures?" Mikan inquired. "Well, don't worry, it's Halloween! We can paint Piyo a different color and pretend she's a giant hamburger."

Nissa then concluded that Mikan wasn't the brightest person in the school.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED.<strong>

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><p>Reviews are appreciated. :D<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Star Crossed<strong>

_Chapter Two_

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><p>"Well, let's go look for Natsume," Mikan chirped, grabbing Nissa's hand and dragging her out the hall.<p>

As they went to the principal's office, someone screamed, "Nissa!"

Of course, the girl looked at the person, which turned out to be Rei. She waited for him to approach her, but he wasn't looking happy. He glared at her and said, "Where have you been? I thought you were just going to the bathroom to clean yourself up."

"And I thought you were just going to wait outside for me," Nissa piped back.

"Are you picking a fight with me?" Rei asked. "I… escaped… for a while… from the man wearing a dress."

"Oh, I met him," Nissa responded. "Seems like he's in love with you."

Rei cringed at that statement.

'I've been aware of that, thank you very much," he scowled.

"You don't seem interested in him, though," Nissa laughed, "He's a man who wears dresses, is friends with a frog, and is not afraid to show his extremely hairy legs. You should definitely go for it." Nissa gave Rei a pat on the back and cracked up.

The masked man glared at the girl in front of him, but she ignored him and continued, "What did he see in you, anyway?" She, then, approached him, and slowly took his mask off while saying, "Maybe it's something under your mask. What could it…" Then, she stopped. What she saw made her heart skip a beat.

In front of her now was a beautiful man with scarlet eyes.

"Your… eyes…" Nissa muttered, utterly captivated by the sight before her. "They're…"

"HOLY CRAP, YOUR EYES ARE GORGEOUS."

Rei and Nissa, startled by a voice that came out of nowhere, jumped in surprise to see Jinno popping up between them. He shoved Nissa to the side and ogled at Rei's unmasked face.

Jinno did a theatrical turn. His dress twirled with his movement and his eyes sparkled behind his glasses. "You, Rei Serio, just knocked me breathless. Will you be my date for Halloween?"

"What is this? Prom?" Nissa got up and straightened herself. "Geez, if you want to go out with him, you might as well dress appropriately."

"That's it. Detention for two weeks for you!" Jinno said angrily.

"That's not fair!" Nissa cried.

"Oh, come on. Don't be so rough on the new student." Rei smiled and tried to charm Jinno, "You're scaring her in more ways than one."

"I'm sorry, Rei," Jinno muttered and looked at him, "but she's being unreasonable."

"No, you're being unreasonable." Rei glared at him.

"But…" Jinno looked upset. Nissa remembered hearing about a teacher who had a pheromone Alice. It was probably Rei.

"Oh, would you two get a room?" An irritated voice came from behind. Nissa turned to look and saw the older boy with the weird hair appear again.

"Very well." Jinno adjusted his glasses as he tried to recompose himself. "You heard the boy, Rei. Let's get a room."

Mikan poked Nissa and whispered to her, "Are they gonna dance the tango on bed? Is that possible? For two guys?"

Nissa tried not to laugh. "Anything's possible."

"I remember Natsume telling me something about dancing on the bed." Mikan put a finger on her chin, trying to remember. "I think he told me that the time I asked him to tutor me for Biology."

Nissa finally broke and burst out laughing, partly because of what Mikan had said, but mostly because of the thought of the two male teachers doing whatever it was Mikan was talking about.

"That's ridiculous, Jinno." Rei kept an eye on Nissa. "Leave me out of your fantasies."

"Or maybe it's when he was teaching me how to dance for PE," Mikan was obviously still on that subject.

"Where is this conversation leading to?" Rei shook his head.

Jinno took the opportunity to snake his arm around Rei's. "We were about to get a room." Rei shot him a glare and wiggled out of his grasp, but Jinno wouldn't budge.

Seeing that the two teachers were distracted, Nissa nudged Mikan's elbow, stopping her from going on about the wonders of the bed. "We should probably leave now… quietly," she suggested in a whisper.

Mikan agreed and they tiptoed out of sight. They turned right at the end of the hall and started walking faster.

"Finally," Nissa looked behind them, making sure none of the crazy men were behind them.

"Natsume!" Mikan, who had obviously forgotten about their supposed quiet escape, shouted and waved at the boy who was five doors away from them.

"Shush!" Nissa begged Mikan.

"Sorry!" Mikan put her hands on her mouth. She ran to the dark-haired boy, "Natsume! Come with me! We need to get you ready!" Nissa slapped her forehead after Mikan started shouting again. "We need to dye your hair. Follow me," Mikan grabbed his hand and pulled him away. Nissa walked slow, wondering if it was alright to follow them.

They then continued walking on the seemingly endless corridor and, after their nth turn, which apparently made Nissa dizzy for some reason, Mikan finally stopped and grinned as Natsume's eyes grew wide.

"Behold, Anna and Nonoko's lair," the brunette declared proudly. "Do you have what I asked for?" Mikan asked Anna and Nonoko.

"Yep, we have them right here." Anna uncovered a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Cookies?" Natsume asked.

"I've put some hair coloring potion in them," Nonoko said, "We could have asked you to drink the potion straight away, but the ingredient I used would make your pee burn and go blue if it isn't mixed with some kind of sweet thing. Thus, the cookies."

"Go ahead, Natsume!" Mikan grinned.

Natsume ate a cookie and his hair immediately turned orange.

"See, Natsume?" Mikan ruffled his hair. "It's not so bad, is it?"

"What the—?" Nissa's eyes widened from shock as Natsume's hair grew longer.

"What are you children doing in here?" Seaweed head showed up again. "Ah… Hyuuga, I see what you've done to your hair. Is this your way of challenging me?"

"What are you going on about?" Natsume said, irritated.

"I challenge you to a hair whipping duel!" The middle-schooler declared, pointing a finger at the orange-haired Natsume. He put his boombox down once more and played 'I Whip My Hair' again.

"God. Not this again," Nissa murmured.

"I don't have time for this," Natsume said, cradling a case in his arms. "I have to give this suitcase to someone."

"Why? What's inside the case?" Seaweed Head asked.

Natsume paused, not sure whether to say it or not. He took a deep breath and said, "The Krabby Patty Secret Formula."

Mikan gasped. "How did you get it, Natsume? I mean, Plankton fails to get it!"Natsume just smirked at her.

The song started to play and Seaweed Head started whipping his hair.

"The Academy works for Plankton. You have no idea what those Krusty Krab fellows are up to." Natsume picked up the suit case and left the room after taking a pair of scissors from Nonoko. Probably so he could trim his hair later on.

"What the heck is this place?" Nissa rubbed her temples, hoping she didn't make a wrong turn and was really in the Alice Academy and not the School for Mentally Disabled Children.

"Turn that off, Seaweed head," Natsume set the boombox on fire.

"Bu-but… you're with the bad guys, Natsume?" Mikan asked. "I've always loved Spongebob."

They ignored the frantic screams of the Seaweed head, his curly hair bouncing annoyingly.

"We'll talk later," he promised. "Don't believe what you watch on Nickelodeon. Spongebob is evil." With that he ran off.

"He has got the information wrong. Squidward is the evil dude there," Natsume murmured and pushed his hair back from his face. It grew longer and longer by every minute.

"Ooops, I think I baked the wrong cookies." Anna slapped her cheek and ran to Natsume. "Throw up! Fast! If you don't, your hair will be as long as Britney Spears' hair!"

"But she has a wig," Nissa mumbled.

"SHE DOES?" everybody said in chorus.

Nissa just face-palmed herself and said, "Uhh, yes. But, Natsume, is it? It looks nice on you. Your hair… you should keep it like that… even just for today."

"Are you… flirting with my boyfriend?" Mikan said, narrowing her eyes at the girl.

"What?" Nissa said. "Why would I do that? He's on Plankton's team."

Mikan's eyes narrowed conspicuously, but it wasn't enough to stop the tension that was slowly brewing inside the laboratory. Nissa just sighed tiredly as she watched the gang try their very best to get the cookies out of Natsume's system.

"Oh, good heavens. What chaotic thing have I got myself into?" she murmured quietly as she tiptoed her way out of the room.

"I think Natsume should keep the long hair," Mikan said as she clapped her hands together, "just for Halloween."

"Just stick your finger down the back of your throat, Natsume. That should do the trick," Nissa said, sensing Natsume's dread for long locks.

"What are you saying?" Mikan glared at Nissa. "He should keep the long hair."

"I have no time for this!" Natsume made his way out of the room. "I have to get this to Plankton!" And with that, he left.

"See what happens when someone else fancies your boyfriend?" Mikan frowned.

"What?" Nissa gave her a confused look. "I don't fancy your boyfriend. Believe it or not, I've grown to fancy someone in this academy and his name isn't Natsume OR Hyuuga."

"Who is it, then?" Mikan jumped.

"Err…" Nissa got nervous and tried to leave the room. "I forgot I have to be in the Principal's office."

Without letting Mikan breathe another word, Nissa scurried out of the room, trying to look the most casual about it. Damn, but she seriously didn't want to be falsely accused of trying to steal someone else's boyfriend. And on her first day, too!

She treaded the hallway thoughtfully, remembering having seen the faculty room on her way to her class. Surely there was a teacher, at least someone who was the least bit normal, who could help her.

It was at this moment that she rounded a corner, only to stop dead in her tracks. "Y-You—what are you two doing?" she gasped, before she could stop herself.

She could not believe her eyes. The corner she just rounded on was actually a dead end, and crammed on it were two familiar faces.

A blonde guy and the mysterious photographer. Snogging senseless.

Wait, what? Snogging?

The two of them were on the floor, in a tangle of arms and limbs. The blond visibly stiffened when he heard Nissa's gasps, and he immediately pulled away from the photographer. "T-This isn't what it looks like!" he exclaimed, although the flush on his cheeks seemed to disagree.

"Of course it's exactly how it looks like," the stern girl said, lazily watching the young man in panic from where she lay on the floor, her clothes in a wild disarray. With an arrogant cock of her head, she tossed her camera to Nissa, who fortunately caught it before it landed on the floor. "Snap a picture. We'll show the rest of the Academy how naughty Ruka Nogi is when no one's looking."

"NOOOO!" Ruka muttered. "Please, new student! Believe me; I will NEVER—NEVER EVER IN MY LIFE even imagine to lay a finger on Imai!"

"Apparently you didn't think twice about kissing her senseless," Nissa pointed out, noticing the young woman's bruised lips. Ruka seemed pretty harmless, but the photographer was obviously not lying about him trying to do something naughty.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day," the girl said sharply, making Nissa blink.

"Oh. Right," she muttered, and raised the camera to her eyes. "Well here goes—"

"What in heaven's name are you doing, Nissa? And, who is this? Nogi and Imai?"

Nissa gasped when she heard his voice again. Rei. What was his last name again? Wait, wasn't he supposed to be dancing tango on Jinno's bed? She accidentally dropped the camera she was holding (Hotaru cringed and glared at her), and said, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to bring you to the principal's office," he said. "Why are you making live porn with these two? I see you've made friends. I just didn't think you'd make them this way."

"I did make friends," Nissa told him, "but not with them."

He had his mask on again, so it was hard to tell how he reacted to what she was saying.

"Anyway, why am I needed in the Principal's office?" Nissa frowned, worried that she'd gotten into trouble on her first day. Well, real trouble, none of that Jinno drama.

Rei kept quiet the whole time they walked to the Principal's office. They finally reached their destination, and Rei knocked on the door and opened it. The room was empty.

"There's no one here. I guess I can leave now, right?" Nissa turned to exit the room when Rei closed the door suddenly.

"There's no one here, I guess we can discuss other matters." Rei walked forward, and Nissa, afraid of what was going to happen to her, walked backwards. Her back hit the wall and she found herself cornered. "You have the Luck Alice and I have the Death Alice. They say opposites attract. What do you say to that?"

Nissa was more than afraid now. What was happening?

Finally, a knock came to her rescue. Rei looked at the door and no one spoke or came in. He ignored it and was about to say something when a knock came again and the door flew open.

It was Jinno.

Nissa wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not. Someone came and cut off their conversation. Yes, a good thing. It was Jinno, a bad thing.

She wondered though… opposites attract? Do they, really?

"Oh, Rei, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Jinno wobbled as he walked. Blame the heels.

Rei bit his lower lip which, for Nissa, was extremely hot. "What do you want now, Jinno?"

Part of Nissa wanted to get mad at Jinno. It was obvious that Rei didn't like her math teacher, so why couldn't he just back off? And maybe… just maybe… Nissa might… No, she thought. Rei was a teacher there. She couldn't.

Jinno had this smile on his face. "The bed is ready."

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED.<strong>

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><p>Reviews are appreciated. :D<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Star Crossed<strong>

_Chapter Three_

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><p>Jinno held Rei's arm and was about to drag him to the bed, but Rei struggled and said, "I c-can't leave right now. Let me go, you old man."<p>

"Oh, Rei, nicknames at this point? Isn't it too fast?" Jinno asked, looking happier by the second.

Nissa rolled her eyes and said to herself, "Sure, old man is a good nickname."

"Let go of me, old man!" Rei said, forcing Jinno's hand off his arm. "I don't want to go to bed with you!"

"The couch, then!"

_'Somebody's__desperate,'_ Nissa thought.

"No. Not the couch."

Jinno thought for a while. "The table? Or do you want the floor? That might be a challenge but…" His voice trailed off, "I've always wanted a challenge."

Nissa felt her jaw drop but didn't have the voice to say anything. This was… disgusting.

"Jinno, I—" Rei started but Jinno hushed him.

He walked over to the sofa, swaying his hips as he did so. He had leg on the sofa and he did a fierce pose. "Rei, I want you to…" Jinno ran his hand down his hairy leg. "…EAT ME!"

"Oh, dear God!" Nissa yelled, covering her eyes. "What is wrong with this school?"

"Nothing's wrong with this school, dear," Rei looked at her. "Just this man."

"You're really going to call him a man?" Nissa muttered.

"Dear?" Jinno noted. "_Dear?_" He raised his voice.

This man was about to explode, Nissa could tell. She ran for the door only to get hit by it when it opened. "Ow!" she yelped. She looked behind it. It was Natsume.

"Persona…" Natsum said, looking at Rei.

"James Bond to the rescue!" Nissa exclaimed. "Thanks, Natsume. I owe you one." And with that she left the Principal's office.

"This place is completely mental." Nissa broke into a run and bumped into someone when she turned to a corner.

"Oh, hi, there! Didn't see you—" the person halted mid-sentence as Nissa looked up. Oh great, it was the seaweed-haired guy again.

"Seriously, why are you everywhere?" she shrieked.

Seaweed guy just looked at her as if she grew another head and pointed at her indignantly. "It's _you_ who's practically everywhere! You were there when I was at the lab, when I was near the girl's lavatory, and everything in between! Are you… stalking me?" the guy whispered the last bit and grinned at her as he noticed her eyes widen.

"Oh, no, I don't stalk people such as yourself, thank you very much!" she said with an air of displeasure. _'Am__I__in__a__mental__hospital__or__what?'_ she thought.

She was already poised to run away from everyone when another voice called her. "Where do you think you're going?" was what it said, and with that, she robotically looked back.

An unsmiling Hotaru Imai greeted her, a weird-looking gun posed to fire. With their proximity, the precision was deadly accurate, prompting Nissa to swallow.

"Hello, new student. I hope you're not forgetting the debt you owe me," Hotaru said coldly.

"What debt?" Nissa screamed, suddenly getting paranoid. Where are all these people coming from?

Hotaru just looked her in the eye and said, "You. Dropped. My. Camera."

Oh, dear Lord. What is wrong with these people? Nissa covered her face in frustration and said, "I didn't mean to! Rei surprised me!"

"Rei-_sensei_," Hotaru corrected, still looking pissed.

"Rei's fine, Nissa," Rei said, slowly approaching her again from behind.

Jinno was following and tried to jump on Rei, which the masked man dodged easily.

Jinno said, "Can I call you Rei, too? …REI."

"No."

"Why in the name of Doritos don't I have the right to call you such, mister? And you let some—" Jinno looked at her with disgust painted all over his powdered face. "—unknown student call you a term of endearment?" As he stopped momentarily, it was then when he realized that no one was actually listening.

No, they were all gone.

Jinno, with his pink dress, well-done face and matching pumps, ran to them and shrieked in such a girly voice that even Hotaru twitched in response.

"What am I in your life, Rei? Am I just chopped liver?" And then he wailed like a wife in her husband's funeral.

"Don't call me Rei, you old geezer. My name is not a term of endearment." And with that, Rei just continued walking with Nissa, not minding Jinno's pleas.

"My day so far in this academy has been nothing less than insane," Nissa sighed, shaking her head. "And why do you keep dragging me off somewhere? I thought there was a Halloween party?"

"I need to tell you something first—"

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Rei was cut off mid-sentence, his chances lost again.

The voice was familiar, awfully pitchy and loud. Much to Rei's horror, a feminine-looking man made his way towards them, his blonde hair swishing about in its small pigtails.

…Pigtails?

"Narumi…" Rei wrinkled his nose in disgust. "…what in God's name are you wearing?"

"It's my costume!" Narumi twirled. "Like it?" He winked.

Nissa felt something strange, like she was attracted to this extremely feminine man. So this was Narumi. Since Rei mentioned his Alice earlier, this must be the one who has pheromone Alice.

"It looks stupid, take it off," Rei said explicitly.

"Don't be like that, Rei," Narumi smiled. "Don't forget you have to prepare for the party as well. Or are you going as yourself for Halloween this year?"

"Let's go, Nissa." Rei pulled her away.

"Wait, do I get to dress up, too?" Nissa said excitedly.

"Yes, now keep quiet and follow me." Rei continued walking.

"I want to go as a tree!" Nissa jumped. "And since we're opposites, you should go as a fruit… a banana, maybe!"

Narumi was quick to fall into step with the pair, grinning up at Rei with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Actually, I had better ideas instead of playing dress up."

"Yeah, how obvious," Rei snapped, walking so fast that he was practically dragging the girl with him. "Don't listen to him."

But of course, Narumi's Alice was already working its magic, and Nissa was looking up at Narumi intently, the gleam of awe obvious in her eyes. "What are your better ideas?" she asked.

Narumi smiled gleefully. "Help Rei with his little predicament, of course."

Rei held up his hand to stop the gay (as in happy) teacher and said, "We don't need your help. If you'd excuse us, I'll be helping her look for a proper… tree costume."

"WAIT!" the girly teacher screamed, running after them. The two had no other choice but to stop. Rei glared at him, and Nissa just… stared. She needed to get used to this craziness. The blonde twirled in front of them and said, "Aren't you going to ask me what I'm going as?"

"No."

"Aww!" Narumi stared at Nissa and activated his Alice. "Don't you want to ask me, dear?"

Nissa was getting dizzy, and she had the sudden urge to want to know who Narumi-sensei was going as. She really didn't care who he was going as. She just wanted to leave and find a tree costume.

"Who are you going as?" Nissa suddenly asked.

"So nice of you to ask!" Narumi said, squealing. "I'm going as—"

"Hey, guys!" Mikan greeted as she made her way towards the trio with Natsume trailing behind her. Natsume wasn't the least bit happy to be in the same place as these people. Moreover, his orange hair was still growing longer.

Nissa looked at Mikan, then at Narumi, and noticed something unusually similar. She did this for about three times before she shook her head in disbelief.

_'Those__pigtails,'_ she thought. "Narumi-sensei, are you… cosplaying as Mikan?"

"I like you!" the blonde teacher exclaimed. He started jumping up and down with excitement. "Yes, yes. I'm going to be Mikan this Halloween."

For a first day in school, this was pretty memorable. The scene was weird; Rei with his mask, Mikan who had a look-alike, and Natsume with his long orange hair. She always thought that the academy was kind of an exclusive school with professional people who took things rather seriously. She was obviously wrong.

Well, nobody told her that yesterday when the Academy people told her she was an Alice and drove her away.

"Why did you pick Mikan?" Nissa asked.

"Mr. Narumi," Mikan said his name with astonishment. "YOU LOOK AWESOME."

Mr. Narumi smiled at Mikan and turned to Nissa. "'Cause she's my idol!"

"Ha. Hear that, Natsume? I have a fan." Mikan told her boyfriend.

"Yeah, and I have millions of fangirls while you have one. Great job."

Rei had a hand over his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, God."

The hallway got noisier with Mikan and Natsume arguing about who had more fans, Jinno trying to hug Rei, Rei pushing Jinno away and trying to convince Nissa that they had to leave, Nissa saying she wanted to stick around Narumi, and Narumi telling everyone how beautiful that day was.

Perfect.

"Let's go, Nissa." Rei started pulling her away again.

"No! Narumi-sensei!" Nissa cried. "I must not leave him."

Rei dragged her out of the building and tried to calm her down. "You mustn't fall for that gay teacher," Rei commented. "He has a Pheromone Alice. If you want to fall for someone, you might as well be true to your feelings."

They walked outside, headed to somewhere Nissa was yet to figure out. It was a sunny day, there were beautiful trees, the wind was blowing softly, and no one else was around.

"It seems like we're on a date," Nissa laughed.

Seconds later, she realized what she had just said and stopped laughing. Her eyes widened at the thought of what Rei could possibly have thought of her now, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way! It's just that... err..."

Rei was quite startled from this. He looked down at Nissa. Her cheeks were red as she kept apologizing. Rei couldn't help but to stare at her pink lips. They were so… irresistible. _'What__is__this__this__feeling,'_ he thought. Unconsciously, he slowly put his hand on Nissa's chin, brought her face up for him to see her eyes.

Nissa's eyes widened, her cheeks getting warmer. "R-Rei… what are you—" Before she could finish, Rei slowly leaned in and claimed Nissa's lips with his own.

The kiss was almost… perfect.

It was as if time had stopped and everything around them disappeared. It was only Rei and her.

There was a fluttering feeling inside his stomach at how her lips moved evenly against his. He found his hand slipping down her neck, pulling her even closer to him, which she did not protest to. The delight he felt when she kissed him back with as much passion as he had made him yearn for her even more. It was downright magical, he convinced himself.

Minutes later, Rei felt the need to break the kiss first to take in a breath, but Nissa's arms snaked around his neck, tugging on a handful of his hair as she did so. Rei, too, did the same, pushing back some hair that was still on her face. It came as a surprise to him when her hair fell off and got stuck to his hand. He pulled away when that happened, and as he gazed into Nissa's bespectacled eyes…

…Wait, bespectacled?

"Rei… why did you stop? I can go at it for hours, you know."

It was Jinno's voice.

And he was wearing a wig again.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED.<strong>

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><p>Reviews are appreciated. :D<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Star Crossed<strong>

_Chapter Four_

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><p>One second, they stared at each other, which made Jinno think he finally had Rei for himself, but the next second, Jinno and Nissa heard a loud thud—Rei had fainted.<p>

"Oh, good Lord!" Jinno screamed in panic. "I knew I shouldn't have worn a wig! He thought it was you he was kissing, which disgusted him to a whole new level of vomit-worthy kisses. I should've just been myself! He would've loved it even more!"

Jinno ran away, not knowing what to do with the man he thought had died.

"I think you've got it all wrong," Nissa told an imaginary Jinno once he was out of sight. "That was disgusting," Nissa laughed to herself.

She walked over to Rei, afraid of what people might think if they saw her alone with an unconscious teacher. "I should get you out of here." Nissa grabbed him, but he was too heavy for her to carry. "How on earth do I move this guy?" Nissa looked around and saw the scooter the girl she saw earlier was riding. "I hope she doesn't mind if I borrow this." She brought it over to Rei's side and lifted him onto the seat, trying hard not to hit any part of his body to any part of the duck's body besides the back. "That should do it." Nissa gave herself a pat on the back for her hard work and got on the duck scooter.

Rei felt extreme pain on his head. He opened his eyes and saw pink walls. He felt dizzy, but tried to get up.

"You shouldn't get up," he heard a girl's voice. "I think you hit your head hard on the ground when you fainted. You should rest more."

"Where am I?" Rei lied back down and closed his eyes.

"You're in my room," the voice said.

He opened his eyes and looked to his left. It was Nissa. Rei shot up, ignoring his headache.

"What am I doing here?" His face went red.

"You fainted, and I didn't know where the infirmary was, so I took you to my room instead. I hope that's okay."

Rei rubbed his temples and noticed his mask was gone. "Where's my mask?"

"I had to take it off," Nissa said, "It's okay, I have it here. I couldn't treat your wound without taking it off."

"I need it back." Rei took the blanket off and reached for his mask which sat on the desk beside Nissa. His face was inches away from hers when he got a hold of it.

"Err… I think you should lie down if your head still hurts. It might go away if you sleep a little more," Nissa said nervously, hoping he'd move away.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Rei said softly and leaned in for a kiss, this time hoping Nissa wouldn't turn into Jinno again.

His lips touched hers and brushed lightly against them, but a second after their lips touched, the memory of him and Jinno doing the same rushed back to him. He tried to stop it, but he couldn't help it… He threw up.

The second kiss was supposed to be fairytale-like, as it could never be supposed as an accidental kiss anymore.

But no, some stupid circumstance just had to ruin everything.

Rei covered his mouth and ran to the nearest window as he continued to throw up whatever he had eaten that lunch at the thought of Jinno molesting his lips earlier. Nissa was shocked beyond compare as she watched him lean on her balcony. This was not what she expected from this school at all. The moment she set foot inside the academy, she had her fingers crossed in hope to find someone just as sane as she was, someone who could withstand her mild insanity over 'normal' things and whatnot.

But no, what she found was a bunch of seemingly insane teachers wearing tutus and twirling all over the place, people kissing each other — no, make that snogging—running away from each other, and people with weird hairdos and hair color, whipping their hair back and forth.

If one could rate their insanity from afar, even a mental hospital cannot cure their illness.

She continued to pierce his back with her stare as he, in turn, continued to barf senseless on her balcony, not minding whoever was under it. She neared him and, watching his face turn scarlet by the minute, started to run her hands on his back in hopes to soothe whatever it is that bothered him so much he had to barf.

After minutes of unending barf moments, Rei finally stopped and turned to face Nissa, his cheeks bright red.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Nissa." He looked at her apologetically. Nissa, in turn, just smiled at him and offered her lavatory so he could wash up.

Rei sat on her couch after he washed up and looked at Nissa with such intense feeling she didn't know she could ever explain. It was just beyond anything she ever felt before.

She felt… loved… as she got lost in his eyes.

"So, what do you say we continue where we left off?" He winked at her and neared her as she remained rooted on the spot.

A part of Nissa wanted to give in to him. The sound of his velvet voice cut through her like butter. Despite the crazy circumstances that have led them up to this point, they were finally alone together in her room, just like how she wanted it to be. Rei was evidently still sick, but the gentleness in his scarlet eyes reassured her that he was serious.

He ducked his head again slowly, ready to catch her lips, but before he could do so, Nissa covered his mouth to stop him. Her hand moved to his face and she pinched hard on his cheek.

Rei yelped in pain. "What are you doing?"

"No," Nissa retorted. "Not with those lips."

The thought of Jinno and Rei's make-out session earlier sent shivers down her spine. This wasn't how she pictured her first kiss to be like. She wasn't going to kiss a man who had just had his lips devoured by another man—a gender-confused, cross-dressing man, to add.

No. It just wasn't right.

"You should leave," she added as she pulled on his arm and pushed him out the door. "And you should probably go rinse off whatever Jinno left in your mouth before you even think about kissing someone else."

With that, Nissa slammed the door in Rei's face before he could respond. She leaned her back against the door, sighing. All she wanted to do was break down and cry. Never had she felt so pathetic in her life.

"Turn that frown upside-down, doll."

She was startled when she saw the unnamed seaweed head dude again who was now in her room.

"I swear, you keep popping out of nowhere!" Nissa pointed an accusing finger at him. "How did you get in here?"

"I sneaked in, but that's not the point," he replied, shrugging. "Rather than moping around here in your room, you should probably go get ready for the Halloween party."

Nissa did not bother to ask any further questions. She figured she had to get used to the insanity in this school sooner or later. "I don't have a costume yet. I'm supposed to go as a tree."

The unnamed seaweed head dude winked and said, "I can help with that. Come with me."

Nissa followed him out of her room and they made their way towards the school's main building. She didn't know her way around the school very much yet, so she had no idea where they were going.

"I'm taking you to a group of people who I'm sure will help you with your costume." Seaweed head led her to the second floor of the building, and stopped at the second door to the right.

"Do we just enter? I think we should knock." Nissa stared at the door, "Who's in here, anyway? I hope it's not Narumi. I'm trying to steer clear of him for now." She looked behind her only to see an empty hall. "Wha—? Where'd he run off to again? That weirdo."

She breathed in and knocked on the door. An older boy with a star tattooed below his left eye opened the door, "May I help you?"

"Err… Hi… " Nissa smiled nervously. "I was told that you could help me with my Halloween costume. I'm supposed to go as a tree. Some weird boy with permed hair led me here. I don't know his name and he seems to have disappeared, so I'm not sure if I got the right room, or if you guys even help people look like trees, but—"

"You must be Nissa," the boy interrupted. "You arrived sooner than we expected. They told us we'd meet you tomorrow, but it's nice to meet you. I'm Tsubasa."

"Hi, Tsubasa… err…" Nissa didn't know what to say. She was being welcomed. She didn't even know she had a class with older people.

"Come in so I can introduce you to everybody." Tsubasa opened the door wider and revealed a room filled with students of different ages.

Nissa entered and everyone stopped what they were doing to look her way. She was intimidated at first, but they all smiled and welcomed her. "Everyone, this is Nissa. The new student Noda-sensei told us about."

"It's nice to meet you all." She looked around. There were costumes being prepared in one corner, and candies being sorted in another. There seemed to be something pink with the pile of candies; they looked like balls of cotton candy, except fluffier. She saw someone grab it while no one was looking and put the whole thing inside her mouth. It was Mikan.

"Oh! Mikan!" Nissa yelled as if the girl who stood feet from her was in the other side of the room.

"Huh?" Mikan dropped the fluffy object and looked behind her. "Nissa!"

"What are you doing here?" Nissa asked. "Are you also here to get help for your costume?"

"Oh, no, I'm actually helping with the costumes of the Special Ability types." Mikan put her hands together. "Do you need help with yours, too?"

"Eh?" Nissa looked confused. "Special Ability types?"

"You came here without knowing what the Special Ability class is?" Tsubasa asked, "I thought you were told about us."

"No," Nissa scratched her head, "I'm sorry. I was just told you guys would help me out with my tree costume."

"Come this way, then!" A pink haired girl called her over to the other side of the room.

"I'll take your measurements!" An identical girl held up a tape measure. They were probably twins.

"And I'll see what colors look good on you!" Another one appeared. Triplets, then.

"And I'll find the right material to use!" A fourth identical girl appeared. Quadruplets?

"And while we're on that, maybe we can get to know each other!" There were five now?

She could've sworn there were only five, but one of them multiplied and there were now six. The sixth pink-haired girl looked towards the corner of the room and saw Mikan eating all the fluffy pink stuff in the box. "Mikan! Don't eat all the fluff puffs!"

"What is this," Nissa muttered to herself. She looked around, and realized there weren't just six identical pink-haired girls, there were… fourteen?

Noticing that Nissa was getting more and more confused, the pink-haired girls approached her and said in unison, "Hi! I'm Misaki."

Nissa stared at the fourteen Misakis and said, "Uhh… Hi. Your mom must've had a hard time giving birth to all of you, huh? I guess that's why she just named all of you 'Misaki'. How can she tell that you're Misaki number 1, or 2, or 3 or whatever?"

"She's funny," the Misakis said. Then, the Misakis started disappearing, leaving only one. The only Misaki left grinned at her, extended her hand for her to shake, and said, "I'm the one and only. What you saw was my alice. I have the Doppelganger Alice."

Nissa was about to take her hand when she suddenly couldn't move her body. She tried to move her head to see what's happening, but she's frozen.

"What's happeni—"

She suddenly started dancing the Caramelldansen. The man who opened the door for her, Tsubasa, stood in front of her, dancing the same thing as well, but what was weird was that he was stepping on her shadow. He grinned at her and said, "This is my Alice. I'm controlling your shadow."

"You are controlling my what?" Nissa tried her very best to break free from his invisible clutches. Tsubasa was still dancing his Caramelldansen as she involuntarily copied his movements with such struggle and reluctance when, for a fleeting moment, she suddenly felt stiff and finally, she was able to feel her limbs and move them on her will again. She looked at Tsubasa and saw him scratch his head in an ignorant manner whilst looking back at her.

And, as if on cue, all the others did the same weird stare.

"What? Don't look at me like that!" She felt awkward and scared as she remembered the times she had been constantly pierced with the same looks outside the Academy. Where was the comfort she had expected from them?

Why is it like this?

"Do you have the null—" but Tsubasa was cut off mid-sentence.

"Relax. I did it, alright? Don't go ogling on our new friend!" Mikan beamed at her as she stole another fluff puff—or whatever it is—from the box. Misaki's doppelganger immediately ran to the brunette and slapped her hand before she could touch any of it. Nissa turned to the lot and let out a sigh of relief as she realized that they weren't looking at her weirdly anymore.

One of Misaki's doppelganger led her to the fitting room as she tried on her tree costume, complete with all the leaves, branches and whatnot. Three Misakis helped her put it on and did other finishing touches. She looked at herself in the mirror and was so astonished with what she saw that she didn't recognize herself at first.

"Voila! The epiclicious tree!" Misaki declared proudly. She presented her masterpiece to the mob and she heard tons of praises here and there.

Wow.

She. Looked. Like. A. Real. Sakura. Tree. For. Freaking. Real.

She twirled in front of the mirror to assess her new look for the Halloween party that night. She was admiring every feature of her new body—err, trunk—when a velvety voice broke the chaotic chatter that made up the noise of the room.

"Is Nissa here?" was what it said. The noise died down and a long, icy silence greeted her ears as she turned to the direction of the voice.

Several people were covering their mouth as they looked at the man outside the door. Some turned red and were looking at the other side just to avoid the piercing stare of the man, but before she could fully understand why they were acting that way, Mikan's bubbly voice already broke the silence.

"Rei-sensei, why are you dressed like a banana?"

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED.<strong>

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><p>Reviews are appreciated. :D<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Star Crossed<strong>

_Chapter Five_

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><p>Nissa didn't know whether she wanted to laugh, cry, or crawl into a hole and die.<p>

_"Where __is__ my__ Alice__ when__ you__ need __it?"_ she screamed mentally.

The one day she actually asked for luck…

"Well, good luck to me! I wish today will be a good—no, wait, GREAT day!"

…is actually the day it takes a vacation.

So, she did the thing any sane person would do.

"Oh, God! Why me?" She dug a hole in the corner of the room, crawled in, and waited for death to come.

Rei grimaced and leaned on the door frame, his arms crossing in front of his comically yellow suit. "Come on, Nissa. Stop that; we still need to go to the principal's office." He was reveling in the mesmerizing view that is Nissa.

"No, please, let me die here from this ironic life. What the heck is wrong with me? Why can't I use my Alice? And why the hell are you in a banana costume?" she asked Rei, looking out from the hole.

"He's a banana, Nissa! It's peanut butter jelly time!" Mikan clapped her hands and started to dance, repeating the last line again and again.

"You said you were going as a tree, so I'm going as a banana so we can match," Rei replied, scratching the back of his banana costume for who knows what reason. "I'm the banana to your tree."

Nissa's eye twitched at the sight of him. He was a giant yellow banana. It was just a costume, but she couldn't help but feel scared. God knows where her phobia of yellow creatures came from, but she couldn't be bothered to think about it now.

"Couldn't you have gone as some other fruit instead? Like an apple, maybe?" she asked, unconsciously backing away when she saw him walking towards her.

"It's easier to walk in this costume. Less hassle." Rei waved his hand dismissively. "Now come. To the Principal's office." Once again, he grabbed Nissa and dragged her away.

"Save me!" Nissa cried, but no one moved a muscle. Instead, they had fear plastered on their faces. Rei probably wasn't the nicest teacher around for them to be so scared of him like that.

"Let go of her!" A deep voice came from outside.

"Oh no," Nissa recognized that voice. She knew she had to run.

"Let go of her, Rei!" The voice shouted. "I can't let this happen to you! We must be together! I'm sorry for leaving you all alone after you passed out. I just couldn't bear the thought of you not being able to answer to my beautiful voice, so I had to leave."

Nissa looked out the door and saw Jinno. He had changed from a dress to a more sparkly dress. Maybe that was what he was going to wear for the Halloween party.

"Now that you are alive and well again, we need to go see that bed," Jinno continued. "It's been waiting for us for hours."

The teacher-turned-eccentric-queer-with-fashion-problems whipped his wig with such epic finesse that Nissa, in a fleeting moment, just had to admire this girly quirk. Rei, on the other hand, covered his mouth and excused himself as the disgusting make-out session they unintentionally had immediately registered into his brilliant mind. Jinno followed him right away, legs wobbling so bad he had to lean on the wall for support.

From afar, Nissa could hear him mutter, "Stupid platform shoes," and she just had to giggle at that, making Jinno turn to her with another wobble.

"What are you laughing at, you stupid… tree?" He then laughed in her face and even feigned a cutesy giggle, but failed big time as he hiccupped so hard, so he sounded like a choking ostrich, when he realized that Rei was actually listening. Nissa just shook her leaf-infested head and walked off when Rei caught up with her.

"Hey, uhh…" he started in an awkward manner as he scratched his banana skin where the nape should have been. Nissa looked up to him expectantly and suppressed a smile as his mouth contorted into whatever word he was about to say next.

Is this what she had expected? Will this be her fate, with this man she only knew for a day? Normally, she would never get along with a stranger so well, but this man, as strange as he is, is no stranger to her system. It was as if she knew he would be part of her life in one way or another, not that she expected him, of course, but she just feels that weird sensation whenever he's close, or whenever he talks to her, or when he looks at her with such intensity money can never buy nor can anyone steal away.

Can this be love?

Just the thought of it made her blush so bad she was afraid she'd be qualified to become a tomato right at this point. She likes Rei. But love? Seriously?

Love is an intensity she could never understand at all. Just the name itself is foreign to her ears, not to mention the giddy feeling she would probably feel with all the sensation it brings.

But that's not exactly the point, is it?

Because if you love someone, you'll know when you see that person—age will just become a number, and time is never something to worry about anymore.

Is this really what she thinks this is?

"I like—" but someone, as per usual, cut him off mid-sentence once more. His face changed from gentle to murderous as he turned to the man hugging him from behind.

"Get. Your. Filthy. Hands. Away. From. My. Costume," he growled at Jinno and turned to Nissa once more. "As I was saying, I like—" but then some voice interrupted him, yet again.

"…me?" it said.

Nissa's eyebrows quirked up. "Me?" she blurted out.

"Yes! You!" was what Rei yelled.

"No! Me!" Jinno shrieked from Rei's behind.

"What? Me?" Nissa interjected, hands on her hips—err, trunk.

"Yes! You! I like—" BUT THEN, another voice interrupted once more.

"—your costume!" it said.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF DORITOS IS GOING ON?" Nissa hollered and ran away, with Rei and Jinno tailing her.

"Stop running away from me!" Rei called out after Nissa, all the while trying to lose Jinno who was closely tailing him. "Jinno, will you _quit_ it and get a life already?"

Jinno sniffled dramatically, arms outstretched to his, err, dearly beloved. "But Rei, you _are_ my life! And here I am, doing as you say, getting a life—my life! Oh, how romantic! I've always thought we were in perfect sync!"

On the other hand, Nissa couldn't keep herself from cringing when she heard the exchange, feeling almost pretty damn certain that she was caught in a horrible, horrible nightmare. That, or she was probably starring in some crack-induced parody thought up by equally twisted minds which refused to give her a rest.

"Gotta run, gotta run!" she breathed, desperately urging herself to keep at it. She's never been a runner, but bad times could really induce anyone, including herself, to defy her limits, and she was more than thankful for this. Far ahead, she could see the end of the hallway, leading to two stairs: one heading up and one heading down. Gut instinct told her to go right and upstairs, but remembering that her gut instinct and her luck (or lack thereof) has been screwing her ever since early morning made her pause.

"Screw gut instinct!" she yelped, and, with a fresh surge of energy, raced down the stairs, leaving a trail of paper leaves behind her. She ran and ran, not really sure where she was going to, but she needed to run away.

Well, being in a tree costume isn't really helping her in running without falling down like a bridge. She laughed at what she thought. Anyway, it was hard to run. As she continued to escape, she didn't notice that there was someone standing in the empty hallway, smiling at her.

So, she continued to run. The person didn't move, making her bump into him. Yes. The person is a guy. And, as they were slowly falling down because of the impact, the guy said, "Timbeeeeer!"

Nissa tried to stand up, but her trunk was stopping her legs from doing so. So, she just apologized. "I'm so sorry! Will you please help me stand up? I'm kind of rooted here."

The guy laughed. He stood up and reached out his hand for her and said, "You're a funny tree, Nissa."

Wait. He knew her name? She stared at him, and said, "Uhh, how did you know my name? Have we talked to each other before?"

"No." He shook his head. "I read your mind."

What the firetruck is this school? What is going on?

One minute Rei goes on and on about her needed presence inside the principal's office, which led them to some nerve-wracking hair-whipping battle between some raven-turned-orange-haired guy and some seaweed-haired dude who keeps on appearing everywhere she goes. Next, her innocence had been viciously stabbed by a teacher dressed in such sparkly clothing it makes her blind. And now, she meets some sandy-haired guy who can read her mind.

Is this real life, or is this fantasy?

If only she could sing, she would totally scream that line in front of them for all she cares. But no, such act does not fit in this situation at all.

Who could this guy be?

But before she could even open her mouth, he already beamed at her.

"It's Koko. I hope you didn't get too scared by that. It's just how we people in this Academy work together. We may seem weird, but we love each other that way," he continued raving on and on, leaving Nissa with her thoughts.

Before she came here—scratch that, before she even knew this Academy existed, she was really worried about her sanity and how she could do things that normal people wouldn't even try. She was too adventurous for her own good that she had been dubbed as the walking coffin. She admitted she was weird in her own way, as she knew no one could even dare get past her epic weirdness.

But now, a whole lot of people showed up and were just too weird for their own good, she didn't know whether she should just crawl in somewhere and just hide until the weirdness stops.

Although this was the case, this place somehow made such a memory in her heart in just a day. It was impossible, of course, but with the events happening so fast before her very eyes, one could just shrug and just leave it at that.

Nissa turned to the raving boy and smiled at him. "I think I understand what you mean."

Startled, Koko stared at her for a fleeting moment and, finally registering whatever she said, just smiled in return.

"Why don't we go to the Northern Forest and help out with the preparations for tonight?" he said and together, they went to the direction of the Northern Forest.

"Wait, how do _you_ know it _is_ the Northern Forest? There are too many forests here and we don't have a compass or anything!" Nissa shrieked.

"Relax, I've been in this Academy for years. I know my way here." And with that, he winked at her.

The Northern Forest was such a vast place. Koko kept going on about how dark and scary the place was and how perfect it would be for a Halloween party. He talked about the deadly bear that lived deep in the forest and a giant chick that suffocated people. Koko spoke of the forest like it was a wonderful place of sunshine and rainbows… but maybe that smile was just naturally plastered on his face.

Loud screaming and footsteps were heard, interrupting their conversation. All heads turned to Jinno, panting heavily with his head bent down between his legs.

"Have… Have you seen… a walking… banana around…?" he asked in between breaths.

When he lifted his head, his eyes landed on Rei straightaway. His eyes widened like saucers, and in that instant, he grabbed the bottom of his dress up and pulled it over his head.

"OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! CAN YOU NOT STRIP HERE?" Nissa shielded her eyes with her hands.

Jinno threw the dress away and it landed on Tsubasa's head. The people in the place had similarly shocked and horrified expressions.

"Get it off me!" Tsubasa ran around in circles. "I can't breathe!" Three Misakis ran up to him and worked together to lift the dress off of Tsubasa. "How many layers does this dress even have?" Tsubasa gasped. No reply came, however.

Everyone was staring at Jinno. Nissa had expected to see him naked under the dress, but instead, he was… an orange.

"How on earth did you get that to fit in your already puffed up dress?" Nissa's eyes were wide and glued to the peculiar item of some sort of clothing.

"Rei!" Jinno called out in delight, ignoring Nissa's question. "We match now! We're both fruits!"

"He has wires in there," Koko whispered to Nissa. "His Alice is electricity, in case you didn't know."

"Get away from me!" Rei ran around the place that was half prepared for the Halloween party.

"The orange was deflated inside his dress," Koko continued. "When he stripped the extremely puffy dress off, he activated his Alice, which inflated the orange costume."

"Rei! Remember that kiss we shared earlier?" Jinno ran around the forest after Rei. "Didn't you feel sparks fly? We connected! We belong together, Rei!"

"So basically he wanted to get fat for Rei-sensei," Koko chortled, "the opposite of what a lover would usually do, I must say."

"The bed is waiting for us, Rei!" Jinno cried.

"I am not going to bed with you," Rei replied seriously, a hint of tempered fury in his eyes. "Leave me alone."

"I did everything for you! You can't leave me like this!" Jinno protested, clinging onto the bottom of Rei's costume.

"Watch me," Rei taunted, pushing the orange-clad man off him.

"Rei…" Jinno muttered. "It has always been you and me. Don't you see? How can your feelings change because of _her_? I've always been here for you. Just be with me again. You don't need her to mess with your head!"

The man was as stubborn as a pickle. Rei knew that whatever he said wouldn't have any effect at all. He glanced at Nissa, whose face was that of indefinite annoyance.

With a sigh, Rei pulled Jinno from his kneeling position and up to his feet.

"Fine." Rei took one meaningful look at Nissa once more before saying, "Fine, let's go to bed."

Jinno was more than ecstatic to hear this, as he threw his round self onto Rei, not forgetting to stick his tongue out at Nissa who was standing behind them, utterly flabbergasted.

All Nissa could do was walk out from the scene.

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><p><strong>TO BE CONTINUED.<strong>

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><p>Reviews are appreciated. :D<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Gakuen Alice.

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><p><strong>Star Crossed<strong>

_Final Chapter_

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><p>Nissa helped herself to the buffet table, eating her worries out and shrugging off the disturbing thought of Rei and Jinno in bed.<p>

"Hey, Nissa! What happened?" Mikan greeted.

As ridiculous as it may seem, it appeared as if she was cosplaying as Narumi with her blonde wig. Only, she was wearing a pink tutu and had Minnie Mouse ears headband. Natsume, whose orange hair had grown as long as the Nile river, was trailing behind her, munching on some chips as he waddled in his pumpkin costume.

"Nothing…" Nissa replied, tacking on a fake smile. She wasn't about to let anyone know how horrible she was feeling. "I see the effect of the cookie hasn't worn out yet."

Natsume rolled his eyes and scooted somewhere far away. Mikan just grinned at her and walked away, in search for Natsume.

Nissa was alone in the table once again, until a glass of wine appeared right in front of her. The hand that was holding on to the glass belonged to none other than Rei.

"What are you doing here?" Nissa asked, standing up from her seat so that she was looking at the teacher in the eye. "And why aren't you wearing your banana costume anymore?"

"Do you really think I'd go to bed with that psychopath?" Rei smirked.

He was now clad in a sleek vampire outfit, and as he smiled, his vampire fangs sparkled against the light. Nissa couldn't take her eyes off him. He looked devilishly handsome and it enthralled her to the point that she got speechless once again.

It was then that the microphone screeched, deafening everyone's ears for a full minute or two. When this was fixed, a smiling Narumi—dressed as Mikan, complete with pigtails and GA uniform—spoke into it, giving the rest of the audience a cheerful smile.

"Well, hello there, everyone!" he greeted. He was standing on a makeshift of a stage, which had been carefully obscured by a sort of Cloak Alice from view. All lights were on him, which seemed to delight him completely, although it only served to make some of his students, particularly an orange-haired one, frown deeply. "I'm glad all of you made it here on time!"

"Boo," Natsume muttered, throwing a piece of rock at his teacher. The rock barely made it to the stage before it shattered to a tiny million pieces, and the young man grimaced. "Hey, no fair!" It was obvious enough that the parameter of the stage was somehow protected by a Barrier Alice.

"I kind of already anticipated that, Natsume," Narumi said gleefully. "Spare me your attitude just for tonight, all right? I'm playing the host for tonight." Without waiting for his student's retort, the teacher cleared his throat and turned to the rest of the audience, looking smug that he had pulled off his little cosplaying well. Well, of course not everyone didn't appreciate it, but then again, _'Not__everyone__has__an__eye__for__beauty,_' Narumi thought to himself.

"Good evening, everyone!" Narumi started. "I know you've been waiting for this the entire day, so I won't keep you waiting any longer! Let's start the evening with karaoke!" he declared, expecting such tremendous reaction from his audience but to no avail.

Reluctantly, he activated his pheromones and the crowd immediately broke into a thunderous applause. Marveling at his work, he smiled with such pride.

"This gleaming spotlight hovering a few feet from us will choose the lucky person who gets to sing the first song in this jukebox right here!" Narumi announced.

As if on cue, two spotlights were already making patterns with their lights on the floor, starting their search.

"Oops, make that lucky _people_," Narumi piped in, amidst the ohh's and ahh's of the students—and some teachers—who followed every movement of the contraption above them. To make the effect just a tad bit more of a suspense, a drum roll was cued in to do its job.

Nissa was too enthralled that she wasn't able to respond when the yellowish flash of light remained on her. She looked up to just in time to cover her eyes from the blinding light that was now above her. She squinted and, with tears in her eyes, turned to Rei, who, incidentally, was also being devoured by the intensity of the light.

"What is this thing? Nissa muttered, trying to shield her eyes from the glare of the lights. Rei just shrugged his shoulders in response and walked to the direction of the stage with such ease—as if it had been a scripted act.

She just stared at him as if he grew another head or something. Can somebody sane enough just tell her what in the name of tacos is going on? Was Rei seriously going to walk up to them and _sing_?

Narumi's voice broke the silence once more, the giddiness evident in his voice. Nissa turned to face him, still shielding her eyes from the glaring light above her.

"Please welcome our first singers! Rei Serio-sensei, the smexy vampire, and Nissa Endou, the epiclicious tree! A round of applause, please," Narumi said, and with that, the jukebox lit up—a bright, orange-y kind of light which reminded her vaguely of Natsume's hair. Its lights were blinking alternately as it chose the song they were supposed to sing. After a minute or two of its insistent blinking, it finally stopped and a familiar tune broke the ice.

It was Barney's phenomenal and nostalgic song, _'I__Love__You'_. What the hell?

Nissa's eye twitched as she listened intently. Were they playing a prank on her? Who in the world would include Barney's song in the list of the, well, songs to be played during a Halloween Party? "You're kidding me!" she muttered under her breath. She stood firm in her spot, refusing to partake in this insanity. "Just no way!"

It was at this moment that Narumi spoke into the microphone, and it was too late when Nissa realized that she should have immediately covered her ears. "Come on, Nissa! Rei is waiting for you to join him and sing Barney's song!"

Against her will, Nissa's lips formed a small smile, although inwardly, she was going through an internal battle with herself. 'No! No Barney song!' she thought. Her legs refused to listen to her, however, and without further ado, she continued to make her way forward and up the stage, where an unsmiling but seemingly amused Rei and a very pleased Narumi were waiting. "Of course I'll sing!" she exclaimed, in a cheery tone that sounded oddly like Mikan's.

Damn, it was creepy.

"Nissa, let's do this," Rei whispered to her and she just had to turn scarlet at that.

"I love you, you love me. We're a happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?" And then, right at that moment, Nissa felt like the lyrics relate to her so well. She looked up to him only to be greeted by his piercing crimson orbs, looking at her with the same intensity as he did earlier that day.

Why does he make her feel that way?

What is with those eyes?

Why can't she stop staring?

And on top of that, why does she keep on asking so many questions?

So they continued to stare at each other like their lives depended on it. She discovered that the more she stared, the more she felt safe. It's as if his eyes were creating a calming effect on her system. She knew it was rude to stare too much, but she just couldn't help it. She was too enthralled once more that she didn't realize Rei was already emitting a weird aura.

No, it wasn't an aura. It's actually a light! A sparkly kind of light!

Wait, what? Is Rei Serio seriously sparkling?

"What in the world—?" she muttered, only to be cut off in mid-sentence when Narumi gasped audibly, and quite histrionically. She raised her eyes to him, unsure where to look: the queer teacher who was dressed like his student, or the man before herself who was… err, sparkling.

"What is that?" Narumi blurted out, pointing at him with his slender finger, his lips forming a little 'O' in wonder. Oddly enough, there seemed to be a glimmer of envy in his eyes, too.

"This," Rei started, looking vaguely embarrassed, "…is what you call the BISHIE SPARKLE."

"That is a WHAT?" Nissa exclaimed, blinking thrice in succession as she fixed her gaze on Rei. With a frown, she took a couple of steps backward, feeling pretty sure that the sparkle was some sort of… delusion, maybe?

_'What__is__this__insanity?'_ she thought, standing there awkwardly, waiting for herself to wake up from this nightmare (and, just for argument's sake, suppose she's been right all along, this crazy parody that some twisted minds had decided to throw her in, just for the heck of it). She was about to go down to avoid any more bizarre events when someone from the audience shrieked loudly.

"Who are you to steal my trademark sparkle, you nincompoop? You are just a teacher, get that? Just… a… teacher!" the… kid… dressed as Plankton screamed as he, or she, whatever, ran all the way to the stage and slammed his Plankton headgear off, causing some of the girls to faint.

It was Kuonji, the ESP.

"You have no right—" he began, but was interrupted by another scream. He frowned, turning his head in the direction of it, and snorted. "No, seriously. I didn't know you had a thing for dyeing your hair or something. Just for the record, it doesn't look good on you. Stick with raven, 'kay?"

It was from Natsume, the orange-haired guy. And man, he looked furious. Partly because of the insult, but it seemed like there was something else that was going on here. Behind him, his fangirls stood agape, wondering what could be between him and the ESP.

"So _you_ are Plankton!" he exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger to the kid dressed as Plankton. Rei looked at him with displeasure, wondering what the deal was between them. Like most of the people in the area, he was just as clueless.

"Natsume, stop bawling. You sound like a girl," Rei said, the sparkles still not leaving his skin. He didn't seem to mind, though; he was probably used to it.

"He looks like a girl, anyways," Nissa trailed off absentmindedly.

"I do not look like a girl, thank you very much!" Natsume shrieked all the more, making most of the girls faint. Nissa just quirked an eyebrow and turned to Rei, who, in turn, looked to Kuonji.

"I have a deal," the ESP offered, a hint of arrogance in his tone. "Why don't we have a Bishie Sparkle Contest and see who wins?" Oh, but his tone suggested that he was so damn sure of himself, and that he was only putting this idea forward because he was certain that he'd win.

"What benefit do I get if I do win?" Rei asked, and smirked at the kid who was looking up to his towering height. Hah, being tall had its perks, and he wasn't about to let this puny little ESP forget this fact. Never. Ever.

"Well, you get bragging rights. And you can go tell everyone you sparkle like a bishounen," he answered, standing firmly amidst the whispering crowd.

"You're on," Rei said as he wiped imaginary dust from his vampire suit. He snarled at the kid and that, alone, indicated that the game is on.

Nissa just stared at them, dumbfounded. There was no way she was witnessing this. A Bishie Sparkle Face-off? Were this people even serious? Who in the world even invented that? It took a second or two for her to remember that this was Alice Academy—school for the gifted _and_ the twisted. Right.

Shaking her head at the bizarre situation happening before her eyes, she turned to Natsume in hopes of even striking just a tad bit conversation out of him, until she realized he, too, was already out of his mind at this point. He went to the jukebox and dropped a coin in.

"Seaweed guy! I accept your hair-whipping duel! Bring it on!" he shouted, and Willow Smith's _'Whip__My__Hair'_ broke the tension.

"Oh, God, this is too much…" Nissa said and just went down, not minding the complaints of her fellow students about Rei and Kuonji's sparkle bout—and how the song was totally not connected with it—and about the news of someone seeing Jinno inside the broom closet, making out with some banana costume he once thought was Rei.

The night was about to end and the dance floor was open. Nissa danced with Rei in the moonlight, and when she looked around she realized that they were surrounded by many couples. She frowned, realizing that there must be some sort of mistake. This was a dance for couples, wasn't it? What was she doing there, in the damn middle of everything, dancing with her teacher? With deep misgivings, she looked up at Rei, only to realize that he was staring intently at her, looking quite… mesmerized.

She looked away, unable to meet his beautiful pair of crimsons. Oh, but she doubted she could ever look at him squarely in the eye; it was simply too much for her. Somehow, his stare always left her breathless, like she was drowning; and yet ironically it was his smile that could pull her up again.

"I honestly thought my Alice malfunctioned today," she told him, biting her lower lip.

"How can you tell?" Rei asked.

"My Alice, even though I'm not aware of it, is always… how do you call it around here?" Nissa put a finger on her chin. "…Switched on?"

"Ah." Rei smiled, letting his fingers trace the contours of her skin. She cringed, feeling his warmth send shivers down her spine. "So, why do you think it malfunctioned?"

"Well, I've never encountered anything bad. Ever." Nissa uttered, "And today felt extra unlucky for me. I panicked when they said I had to go to the Principal's office, I got double detention from Jinno for something stupid, I ran into trouble while trying to make new friends… Well, basically it wasn't what I expected from this school. I thought this school was elite and fancy and everything, but it turned out to be like a giant mental ward."

"A giant mental ward?" Rei chuckled.

"Well, nothing was going right in Nissa's standards," she laughed.

"Do you think it's still malfunctioning?" Rei asked, pulling her closer to him.

"Not at all." Nissa rested her head on his shoulder as they danced to the slow music. "I made new friends, I had fun on my first day, in spite of all the crazy events, I'm finally around people who understand me, and…" She closed her eyes. "I met you."

Rei smiled. He grabbed Nissa by the shoulders and looked at her dark brown eyes. He didn't have his mask on, but he had an extremely tantalizing vampire costume on. Nissa was glad she didn't have to look into the eyes of a man wearing a stupid banana costume. She couldn't deny the fact that he was stunning. That was the first time that day she actually got to take a good look at him. He wasn't very flattering with what he had on, but it took her breath away the moment their eyes met.

Rei leaned in, he was finally going to get that long kiss he'd been meaning to have with her since that afternoon. He put a hand on her face and leaned closer. Both of them had their eyes shut, ready for the moment they were sure to remember for the rest of their lives.

"Don't do it, Shouda!" Tsubasa's voice came from the back of the crowd. Nissa and Rei, interrupted once again, turned to see what was happening.

"I have to! He's going to take her away from me!" The seaweed head yelled. He ran to the middle of the dance floor and stopped right in front of Rei.

Nissa was clueless.

Rei looked a little nervous.

"Someone stop him!" Koko panicked.

Twenty Misakis ran towards seaweed head, trying to get there fast enough before anything bad happened.

But it was too late. Seaweed head had activated his Alice. The whole place was now filled with some sort of greenish brown gas that Nissa could've sworn was supposed to smell bad. It didn't come immediately, but it happened.

The whole forest was fart-infested… and all the trees died. Soon, everyone fainted. There was no one left standing; not even a single sound can be heard.

Did they wake up the next day? No one knows.

Well, that's another story. ;)

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><p><strong>THE END…?<strong>

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><p>Thank you so much to the members of the Applegate Mustachios who made this crazy story possible. All the last-minute panicking was so worth it. Thanks for reading. XD<p> 


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